The term psycho-babble disparagingly refers to grandiloquent but allegedly empty jargon with a psychological tinge. As with any self-respecting jargon, practitioners find the usages normal and useful shorthand, referring to valid concepts; thus they might reject the label of "psycho-babblers". But the vagueness inherent in many psychological concepts also permits the use of "real" terminology in ways that may seem inappropriate. Some cynics suspect that this may be because some of the concepts of psychology are themselves so vague as to be meaningless, and that psycho-babble is only frowned upon because it represents use by non-practitioners.

Psycho-babble dates from at least the 1960s, the era of origin of popular widespread analysis and counselling groups.